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Hi!
This is a bit of a write-my-presentation-for-me thread, so sorry about that.
For a work thing, I'm looking for examples from science fiction films or TV series of people getting information out of computers in cool, futuristic ways. The idea is to present a sort of joking idea of something that a search / knowledge management company could be aiming for as our long term strategy.
Hence it'd help if it's generally something reasonably appealing, and also not something that's already achievable with 2017 technology. Also something that a reasonable proportion of people will have seen or will at least recognise.
My first thought was the magic see-through screen things from Minority Report. But I'm well behind the times on film and TV, so there might be a more current option. Any ideas?
Thanks!
This is a bit of a write-my-presentation-for-me thread, so sorry about that.
For a work thing, I'm looking for examples from science fiction films or TV series of people getting information out of computers in cool, futuristic ways. The idea is to present a sort of joking idea of something that a search / knowledge management company could be aiming for as our long term strategy.
Hence it'd help if it's generally something reasonably appealing, and also not something that's already achievable with 2017 technology. Also something that a reasonable proportion of people will have seen or will at least recognise.
My first thought was the magic see-through screen things from Minority Report. But I'm well behind the times on film and TV, so there might be a more current option. Any ideas?
Thanks!
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Don't know the episode name, but there's a classic original star trek episode where Spock mind melds with a computer space probe to stop it destroying the universe
aha!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Changeling_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Serie...
Don't know the episode name, but there's a classic original star trek episode where Spock mind melds with a computer space probe to stop it destroying the universe
aha!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Changeling_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Serie...
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
the original DON'T PANIC
or you could look up Peter Hamilton's OC Tattoos and implants
the original DON'T PANIC
or you could look up Peter Hamilton's OC Tattoos and implants
Post edited at 11:01
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.
Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.
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In reply to toad:
There's also the truly awful original Star Trek episode, Spock's Brain, in which Dr McCoy learns how to transplant Spock's brain back into his head (!!!) by using 'the Teacher' - a computer system that somehow transmits information into the user.
There's also the truly awful original Star Trek episode, Spock's Brain, in which Dr McCoy learns how to transplant Spock's brain back into his head (!!!) by using 'the Teacher' - a computer system that somehow transmits information into the user.
In reply to Welsh Kate:
ah! and forgets half way through!
In the original Alien, Dallas has to go through all sorts of rigmarole to communicate with "mother" the ships computer, in a special room - but after all that, it's just a case of sitting down at a terminal and typing "what's the story, mother?"
youtube.com/watch?v=2ywWFvjE-yU&
ah! and forgets half way through!
In the original Alien, Dallas has to go through all sorts of rigmarole to communicate with "mother" the ships computer, in a special room - but after all that, it's just a case of sitting down at a terminal and typing "what's the story, mother?"
youtube.com/watch?v=2ywWFvjE-yU&
Post edited at 11:24
In reply to Welsh Kate:
How about the talking toaster on Red Dwarf who was as intelligent as hal the ship computer.
He was quite funny too
How about the talking toaster on Red Dwarf who was as intelligent as hal the ship computer.
He was quite funny too
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
ORAC from Blake's Seven. The first smartphone - small (ish) and portable. Like Siri, you just chat to it.
> Hi!This is a bit of a write-my-presentation-for-me thread, so sorry about that.For a work thing, I'm looking for examples from science fiction films or TV series of people getting information out of computers in cool, futuristic ways.
ORAC from Blake's Seven. The first smartphone - small (ish) and portable. Like Siri, you just chat to it.
Post edited at 11:22
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
Another one for ORAC, if I recall correctly, it was a clear plastic box with some wires and flashing lights in - maybe the first quantum computer. My other shout is K9 from Dr Who, it had attitude and was tooled up too.
Another one for ORAC, if I recall correctly, it was a clear plastic box with some wires and flashing lights in - maybe the first quantum computer. My other shout is K9 from Dr Who, it had attitude and was tooled up too.
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
The universal adaptor in Indipendance Day which allows you to data mine from non-standard systems without any other work looked good
The universal adaptor in Indipendance Day which allows you to data mine from non-standard systems without any other work looked good
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In reply to Welsh Kate:
An earlier (and possibly better) example of much the same thing would be the Krell "plastic educator" machine in The Forbidden Planet.
Is it just film & TV you're (Ramblin Dave, not Welsh Kate) looking for? Books out of bounds?
> ... 'the Teacher' - a computer system that somehow transmits information into the user.
An earlier (and possibly better) example of much the same thing would be the Krell "plastic educator" machine in The Forbidden Planet.
Is it just film & TV you're (Ramblin Dave, not Welsh Kate) looking for? Books out of bounds?
Post edited at 12:34
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
The pilot movie / origin story for "Max Headroom " is on YouTube and is well worth a watch.
The pilot movie / origin story for "Max Headroom " is on YouTube and is well worth a watch.
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In reply to deepsoup:
Something visual would be ideal - something I can put on a slide, basically.
It's annoying, because the Culture series would be ideal otherwise - the Avatars, which provide a human-like interface to an AI and can provide the "user" with information, advice, opinions etc. I suppose Holly from Red Dwarf might be a good substitute!
> An earlier (and possibly better) example of much the same thing would be the Krell "plastic educator" machine in The Forbidden Planet.Is it just film & TV you're (Ramblin Dave, not Welsh Kate) looking for? Books out of bounds?
Something visual would be ideal - something I can put on a slide, basically.
It's annoying, because the Culture series would be ideal otherwise - the Avatars, which provide a human-like interface to an AI and can provide the "user" with information, advice, opinions etc. I suppose Holly from Red Dwarf might be a good substitute!
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In reply to Shani:
Orac is only just predated by the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Radio version) which was pretty well a well connected PDA and probably looks more like a smartphone if you bought one from a souvenir shop in Blackpool!
Orac is only just predated by the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Radio version) which was pretty well a well connected PDA and probably looks more like a smartphone if you bought one from a souvenir shop in Blackpool!
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
And Queeg? One computer projecting two different personalities to wind up the crew*.
Have you read any Alastair Reynolds?
He has all sorts of cyborgs and wotnot, but the Demarchists (Democratic Anarchists) strike me as a particularly interesting idea - they're a faction who have a system of government based on everyone having a neural implant, and everyone is being polled about everything, all the time - every issue is effectively decided by referendum. Once people are used to the implant they're mostly not consciously aware of it.
Edit to add:
* - Sorry. I hope that wasn't a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
> I suppose Holly from Red Dwarf might be a good substitute!
And Queeg? One computer projecting two different personalities to wind up the crew*.
Have you read any Alastair Reynolds?
He has all sorts of cyborgs and wotnot, but the Demarchists (Democratic Anarchists) strike me as a particularly interesting idea - they're a faction who have a system of government based on everyone having a neural implant, and everyone is being polled about everything, all the time - every issue is effectively decided by referendum. Once people are used to the implant they're mostly not consciously aware of it.
Edit to add:
* - Sorry. I hope that wasn't a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
Post edited at 14:20
In reply to Ramblin dave:
humanoid re: robocop, ex machina, blade runner, ghost in the shell
or maybe a bit far fetched and technically stupid but a smart phone battery that lasts over 24 hours
humanoid re: robocop, ex machina, blade runner, ghost in the shell
or maybe a bit far fetched and technically stupid but a smart phone battery that lasts over 24 hours
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Gesture activated machines are under development so you might need to go 'retro future'.
My twopence worth: the glass computer in the original (1970s) Rollerball, not the awful remake. From Hitchhiker's it has to be Marvin the paranoid android. Or maybe the computing machinery in 12 Monkeys?
Gesture activated machines are under development so you might need to go 'retro future'.
My twopence worth: the glass computer in the original (1970s) Rollerball, not the awful remake. From Hitchhiker's it has to be Marvin the paranoid android. Or maybe the computing machinery in 12 Monkeys?
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Would Terminator apply? It'd be like one of those "20 Questions" ball-things that you could query, but which could also kill stuff.
That also reminds me of Robocop - where the guy with the control panel is frantically pressing buttons on his shopping trolley control panel as ED209 advises "You have 20 seconds to comply". youtube.com/watch?v=ZLx4je9wx4M&
Would Terminator apply? It'd be like one of those "20 Questions" ball-things that you could query, but which could also kill stuff.
That also reminds me of Robocop - where the guy with the control panel is frantically pressing buttons on his shopping trolley control panel as ED209 advises "You have 20 seconds to comply". youtube.com/watch?v=ZLx4je9wx4M&
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Might be too obscure but the zero theorem had a funky cube interface, and the sex suit might fit the bill
Might be too obscure but the zero theorem had a funky cube interface, and the sex suit might fit the bill
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Here is The Answer:
youtube.com/watch?v=qN3tLnlixkY&
Hex - a sort of thinking computer - as documented by Mr Pratchett (probably the greatest writer on the nature of belief that has ever lived) in the treatise called Hogfather.
Enjoy
Here is The Answer:
youtube.com/watch?v=qN3tLnlixkY&
Hex - a sort of thinking computer - as documented by Mr Pratchett (probably the greatest writer on the nature of belief that has ever lived) in the treatise called Hogfather.
Enjoy
In reply to Bulls Crack:
That's one of the best replies I've seen on here for a long time. It's a shame I can only give you one like :-D
That's one of the best replies I've seen on here for a long time. It's a shame I can only give you one like :-D
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
In Blake's 7, I think they got information out of ORAC by being patronised.
In Blake's 7, I think they got information out of ORAC by being patronised.
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In reply to wintertree:
Seconded! Loved that.
> The pilot movie / origin story for "Max Headroom " is on YouTube and is well worth a watch.
Seconded! Loved that.
In reply to Wingnut:
And the ships, minds & drones - all with quirky personalities and names.
Minority report had an, at the time, futuristic interactive display for Tom Cruise to play with.
> The neural lace out of Iain M Banks's Culture books?
And the ships, minds & drones - all with quirky personalities and names.
Minority report had an, at the time, futuristic interactive display for Tom Cruise to play with.
Post edited at 17:36
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Most obvious one to me which might work and everyone will have seen is this scene from the matrix: youtube.com/watch?v=6vMO3XmNXe4&
Most obvious one to me which might work and everyone will have seen is this scene from the matrix: youtube.com/watch?v=6vMO3XmNXe4&
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
Let's also acknowledge the fact that every system that needs you to type in a password will display the password in font 75 on the screen as you type it, totally unmasked, for everyone in a seven mile radius to see.
Let's also acknowledge the fact that every system that needs you to type in a password will display the password in font 75 on the screen as you type it, totally unmasked, for everyone in a seven mile radius to see.
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
You might want to get ahead of the game; rather ghan getting info out if a computer, we might actually be in a computer simulation.
Halfway between The Game and Pascal's Wager sits the horrific concept of Roko's Basilisk. Just by reading this you are now effectively complicit and possibly on trial!
You might want to get ahead of the game; rather ghan getting info out if a computer, we might actually be in a computer simulation.
Halfway between The Game and Pascal's Wager sits the horrific concept of Roko's Basilisk. Just by reading this you are now effectively complicit and possibly on trial!
In reply to The Lemming:
I seem to remember on one of the early episodes of Red Dwarf, the keyboard of the ships controls was a Commodore 64.
Probably chosen because it had better graphics than the Spectrum.
I seem to remember on one of the early episodes of Red Dwarf, the keyboard of the ships controls was a Commodore 64.
Probably chosen because it had better graphics than the Spectrum.
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
not science fiction, but there are 3 computers involved in getting info out of one of these
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/radio/mel/prc319/index.htm
(at each end)
not science fiction, but there are 3 computers involved in getting info out of one of these
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/radio/mel/prc319/index.htm
(at each end)
Post edited at 14:35
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Plenty of jokes about 2001: A Space Odyssey....but actually in the film sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact, there are good scenes of data extraction as Dr Chandra interrogates HAL about what really went on 9 years ago
Plenty of jokes about 2001: A Space Odyssey....but actually in the film sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact, there are good scenes of data extraction as Dr Chandra interrogates HAL about what really went on 9 years ago
In reply to Ramblin dave:
In 1960s Batman, The Riddler sends a tantalising clue to our dynamic duo, in the form of envelope containing a jumble of uncooked alphabetti spaghetti letters. Robin feeds these into the Bat Computer via a funnel, and it assembles them into a fiendish riddle, output on punch cards which Robin interprets
In 1960s Batman, The Riddler sends a tantalising clue to our dynamic duo, in the form of envelope containing a jumble of uncooked alphabetti spaghetti letters. Robin feeds these into the Bat Computer via a funnel, and it assembles them into a fiendish riddle, output on punch cards which Robin interprets
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In reply to Blue Straggler:
I always wondered what Assembly language really meant
I can remember going to see that Batman film in the cinema, and the Munsters film
I always wondered what Assembly language really meant
I can remember going to see that Batman film in the cinema, and the Munsters film
Post edited at 22:04
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
By the way, in the end I went for:
Minority Report (cool gesture-based user interface)
The Matrix (download kung fu directly into your brain)
Forbidden Planet / Plastic Educator (similar)
Marvin the Paranoid Android (humanoid interfaces with Real People Personalities)
Thanks for all the suggestions!
By the way, in the end I went for:
Minority Report (cool gesture-based user interface)
The Matrix (download kung fu directly into your brain)
Forbidden Planet / Plastic Educator (similar)
Marvin the Paranoid Android (humanoid interfaces with Real People Personalities)
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Post edited at 23:50
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In reply to Ramblin dave:
Some interesting visuals over at http://sciencefictioninterfaces.tumblr.com/
Some interesting visuals over at http://sciencefictioninterfaces.tumblr.com/
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Lots of good suggestions here.
If you are looking for an updated version of the cool Minority Report gesture-based interface, try The Hunger Games (I know, I know, I am sorry!). In the first film, the game makers use a gesture-based interface to control the game arena. It is a similar idea to Minority Report, but the film is much more recent and the interface is more 3-dimensional.
Also have a look at embeddable implants. There are lots of examples of these in sci-fi (the Borg being the most obvious, if not appealing). This is also something that is probably coming, but not actually here yet. As a first step, it is currently possible to have a compass implanted that talks to an app on your phone if you are that way inclined! http://www.geek.com/tech/north-sense-implant-turns-you-into-a-human-compass...
Lots of good suggestions here.
If you are looking for an updated version of the cool Minority Report gesture-based interface, try The Hunger Games (I know, I know, I am sorry!). In the first film, the game makers use a gesture-based interface to control the game arena. It is a similar idea to Minority Report, but the film is much more recent and the interface is more 3-dimensional.
Also have a look at embeddable implants. There are lots of examples of these in sci-fi (the Borg being the most obvious, if not appealing). This is also something that is probably coming, but not actually here yet. As a first step, it is currently possible to have a compass implanted that talks to an app on your phone if you are that way inclined! http://www.geek.com/tech/north-sense-implant-turns-you-into-a-human-compass...
In reply to Ramblin dave:
Cool.
Thanks for this - people rarely come back to threads like this to say how it went, it's nice to hear about it for a change.
> By the way, in the end I went for:
Cool.
Thanks for this - people rarely come back to threads like this to say how it went, it's nice to hear about it for a change.
In reply to kathrync:
Tony Stark's design computers in the Iron Man films are really nice to see, and seem to be simply "throwaway" scenes that aren't even meant to have a wow factor! Similar hand-control of glassy slidey things that then become neat 3D projections.
> Lots of good suggestions here.If you are looking for an updated version of the cool Minority Report gesture-based interface, try The Hunger Games (I know, I know, I am sorry!). In the first film, the game makers use a gesture-based interface to control the game arena. It is a similar idea to Minority Report, but the film is much more recent and the interface is more 3-dimensional.
Tony Stark's design computers in the Iron Man films are really nice to see, and seem to be simply "throwaway" scenes that aren't even meant to have a wow factor! Similar hand-control of glassy slidey things that then become neat 3D projections.
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